The debacle that unfolded in British airspace in the past 24 hours is but the latest example of why we should be hugely skeptical of the claims of the missionaries of progress.
Sometimes systems fail. In fact, all systems fail sooner or later. The more dependant we are on those systems, the greater the calamity that will ensue when they break down.
And that's just the unintentional stuff.
It should be beyond obvious by now that any system that can be engineered by human ingenuity can also be hacked by human ingenuity. When the entire infrastructure of modernity is dependant on interwoven
networks of information technology, we have rendered ourselves extremely vulnerable.
Vulnerable to misguided teen geniuses who hack for the challenge of it.
Vulnerable to Anonymous-type hackers with a political axe to grind.
Vulnerable to malcontents and would-be revolutionaries who will deliberately target our power grid, our weapons systems, our transportation infrastructure...
It's a question of "when," not "if."
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